WLEX-TV, Lexington’s NBC affiliate, announced that its parent company, Cordillera Communications in St. Paul, Minnesota, will sell 15 of its 16 stations to The E.W. Scripps Company of Cincinnati for a combined purchase price of $521 million. Cordillera’s remaining TV station in Tuscon will be sold to Quincy Media, Inc. The sales are pending federal regulatory approvals.
“Our stations are as strong as they’ve been across any point in our 32-year history,” said Terry Hurley, president of Cordillera, in a statement announcing the sale. “We’ve had a good run, and we’re proud of how our stations have excelled over the years. We’re also heartened to know they’ll continue to be in exceptional hands.”
E.W. Scripps is a publicly traded media company that was founded in 1878 as a group of daily newspapers. It currently operates television stations in 26 markets, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Detroit, Denver, Tampa and Phoenix. It also owns media brands with a national focus in syndication, cable, and digital platforms. The acquisition grows the Scripps local television station footprint to 51 stations in 36 markets with a reach of nearly 21 percent of U.S. TV households. Cordillera expects both deals to be completed by close of first quarter 2019.